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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25137037">Cry</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/MobiusStripper/pseuds/MobiusStripper'>MobiusStripper</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Azula Week 2020, Depression, Family, Family Drama, Gen, Microfic, Ozai (Avatar) is an Asshole, POV Child, Postpartum Depression, Siblings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-07-07</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 11:07:27</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>300</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25137037</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/MobiusStripper/pseuds/MobiusStripper</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuko hates the baby.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Azula &amp; Ursa (Avatar), Azula &amp; Zuko (Avatar), Ursa &amp; Zuko (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>77</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Cry</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This is actually a snippet from a longer oneshot I am working on, but I happened to notice that the Azula Week prompt for today was "Baby", and this fits into that so I might as well float it out there early.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Zuko hates the baby.</p><p>He hates the baby because she won’t stop crying, and she is making Mom cry, too. He peers over the edge of the baby’s cradle, where she lies shrieking and <em>won't stop</em>. He glances back at his mother, who sits on the edge of the bed with her face in her hands and her shoulders trembling, and scowls.</p><p>“<em>Shut up</em>,” he hisses caustically through clenched teeth, glaring daggers at the baby.</p><p>The baby is finally given to a wet nurse, and Mom doesn’t get out of bed for months afterward, and Zuko hates the baby because Mom was never like this until the stupid baby came along.</p><p>On a sunny afternoon, he knocks lightly on the door and enters her darkened room with a loaf of stale bread from the kitchens. “Hey, Mom. Wanna feed the turtle ducks?” She doesn’t even turn to look at him.</p><p>“I’m too tired,” she murmurs. Still clutching the bread, he sits down beside her on the bed and lays his head on her shoulder. Her hand reaches up and finds his cheek.</p><p>“My boy,” she whispers hoarsely. “My good, sweet boy.” And she starts to cry again.</p><p>Instead of relaxing in the garden on a warm day, he lies in his mother’s bed for hours with the curtains drawn. Mom cries, and Mom sleeps, and Mom cries more, and Zuko hugs her, and Father comes in and barks at Zuko to stop wasting time and go make himself useful and barks at Mom to stop this foolishness already. So Zuko has no choice but to leave his mother’s side and go outside to train alone. He slashes at invisible enemies with his wooden knives and hopes for the first heat to form at his fingertips, and he hates the baby.</p>
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